View from the deck at Mason Bay hut

Big Hellfire – Mason Bay, 17.0 km

Saturday, February 16: Fog, patches of drizzle; on the beaches strong winds; some brighter periods

GPS Tour

Up at around 8:00 and had two eggs, three muesli bars & a strong coffee for breakfast of the hardest day. The day was not looking promising but after sending off my signal with the spot tracker, I bid farewell to Bob & Ken, who were also leaving, and took off up the track.

The ascent to the ridge was in very good condition and the walk along the ridge was also in fairly good nick. On the descent to Little Hellfire the muddy spots started reappearing. On the way down met a group of four on their way to Big Hellfire and exchanged tips about the routes. At Little Hellfire, there is no longer a footbridge; while I was taking a couple of photos some hunters were watching me and waved when our glances met. Very windy along Little Hellfire; at neither end of the beach was the shelter that Bob & Ken had told me about; perhaps I just missed it, perhaps they were pulling my leg.

Was getting hungry by the end of Little Hellfire but made it up the very steep climb to the ridge and the very muddy descent down to Mason Bay on the other side. Found a sheltered spot for lunch at the top end of the bay and had my crackers, salami and apricots.

Now for the final stretch. The first part was very slow going over rocks and I was weighing up whether to take the high road or the low road around the exposed cliff. The tide was certainly going out, although low tide had not yet been reached. When I got to the turnoff I decided to take the new route – too many uncertainties about going around the base of the cliff (with pack). So I was up the wadi (and only in New Zealand do the wadis carry water) and then right up the sand dune to the top of the cliff. The track was very new and took some finding but after a couple of tens of minutes I was down the other side, into the stream and onto the beach.

From there on it was fairly firm sand, dotted with dead Portuguese Men-of-War jellies and what appeared to be a reddish (algal?) foam. This was about the highest speed I could go and arrived at the hut at around 5:00. Pretty full this time, at least a dozen people, mainly Germans.

Washing had to be done, although almost nothing will be getting dried. Picked out a top bunk for myself. Dorms and kitchen are separate here and the common room already has a fire and is a warm place to write the diary, sitting in shorts and shirt and have discovered a huge bite on my left knee. Will need some time to recover from the bites and need to photograph the ones on my left hand.